Dig fails to turn up remains despite tip

Wednesday

Oct 16, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Investigators and anthropologists spent nine hours Tuesday excavating an area in central Stockton after receiving a tip that a body was buried there, but authorities called off the search when the daylong dig failed to unearth any evidence of human remains, police said.

The Record

STOCKTON - Investigators and anthropologists spent nine hours Tuesday excavating an area in central Stockton after receiving a tip that a body was buried there, but authorities called off the search when the daylong dig failed to unearth any evidence of human remains, police said.

Authorities dug up a 300-square-foot area in the greenbelt near March Lane and Kentfield Road, just behind a set of apartment buildings on Gateway Court.

Investigators used a backhoe and hand tools to sift through the dirt. Their efforts were obscured by blue tarps draped over temporary fences that were erected around the dig site.

Homicide detectives from the Stockton Police Department oversaw the search.

They were aided by representatives from the state Department of Justice, the Santa Clara County Forensics Canine Team and the San Joaquin County Coroner's Office as well as anthropologists from California State University, Chico, authorities said.

The search began about 9 a.m. and ended shortly before 6 p.m.

Authorities have no plans to resume digging in that location, police said.

"We received a tip that there was a dead body buried in the greenbelt area along the March Lane and Kentfield Road corridor, and the tipster was pretty specific about where the body was," said Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Police Department. "We conducted a very systematic search to try to locate anything of any evidentiary value, but in this case we did not locate any evidence."